A local African hero competes with the rich foreigners

Yesterday I had the delightful privilege to spend most of the day with Chris Ampadu, a West African leader of growing influence. Chris teaches Christian worldview and related topics in most West African countries. Chris is Ghanaian and loves Africa, yet he is disturbed by the values and behaviors that hinder Africans from reaching their potential. He believes that Africa is among the most blessed continents, with huge potential due to its vast natural resources and creative, smart and strong people. He is embarrassed that Africans have allowed themselves to become dependent on foreign aid and chastises his countrymen about it. He tells them, “We can pay our own way, take care of our own problems, and become a blessing to other nations.”

Chris and his colleagues create venues for their message by inviting local Christian leaders to come to training conferences. They are philosophically opposed to paying people to come, so they are at a disadvantage compared to their Western competitors who invite the same people to events where the participants are treated to nice accommodations, fancy food, and sometimes even per-diam allowances. The Western sponsored conferences attract large crowds. Chris’s events attract small crowds, but Chris’s conferences are having a greater, more positive sustainable impact.

Anda Leadership follows a philosophical stream that parallels Chris’s and we are looking for ways to work together. We believe that Anda Leadership trainers can enhance his conferences by providing content that is not readily available in Africa without overwhelming the local initiative with western money or other influence.

Anda Leadership responds to invitations like Chris’s, giving them a hand-up, not a hand-out.